Facebook Taking Action On Adult Sexual Content

Facebook is launching an aggressive strategy for detecting sexual and otherwise controversial content across its site and for removing ads that appear alongside that content. This new policy may have affects on how websites using their API (apps) services may work.

The new Facebook policies came into effect on Monday, July 1, 2013. As of today, Friday, July 5, 2013 several of our hosting clients have reported outages of their Facebook Connect and Fan Page widgets.

Adult content clients using Facebook services vis-à-vis (between their website and Facebook) should be aware that their registered API(s) could be subjected to termination due to policy changes by Facebook.

Adult content clients using the Facebook Advertising programming module should be aware of these new policies changes by Facebook which clearly (literally) forbids adult oriented marketing as outlined in Facebook's recent announcement.

Facebook said it will no longer allow ads to appear on pages with sexual or violent content, as the online social network moves to appease marketers being associated with objectionable material.

This move comes a month after several businesses pulled their ads from Facebook amid reports of pages on Facebook that promoted such. Facebook said it also needed to do more to prevent situations in which ads are displayed alongside material that may not run afoul of its community standards but are deemed controversial nonetheless.

A Facebook page for a business that sells adult products, for example, will no longer feature ads. Previously such a page could feature ads along the right-hand side of the page so long as the page did not violate Facebook's prohibition on depicting nudity. Facebook said the process of flagging objectionable pages and removing ads would initially be done manually, but that the company will build an automated system to do the job in the coming weeks.

Advertisers must ensure that their ads comply with all applicable laws, regulations and guidelines. All claims in ads must be adequately substantiated. Ads must not offend users. Ads and any offers promoted within ads must not be false, deceptive or misleading or contain spam. Ads must not contain or promote illegal products or services. Ads must not violate the rights of any third parties. The following specific content guidelines apply:

A. Adult Products

Ads may not promote the sale or use of adult products or services, including but not limited to toys, videos, publications, live shows, or sexual enhancement products. Ads for family planning and contraception are allowed provided they follow the appropriate targeting requirements.

B. Alcohol

i. Ads that promote or reference alcohol are prohibited in the following countries: Afghanistan, Brunei, Bangladesh, Egypt, Gambia, Kuwait, Libya, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and any other jurisdiction where such ads are prohibited by law.

ii. Where permissible, ads that promote or reference alcohol must: (i) Comply with all applicable local laws, required or recommended industry codes, guidelines, licenses and approvals and (ii) apply age and country targeting criteria consistent with Facebook's targeting guidelines and applicable local laws. Where a user's age or country cannot be determined, the ad must not be displayed to the user.

iii. Please refer to the Help Center for additional alcohol-specific guidance.

C. Dating

Ads for adult friend finders or dating sites with a sexual emphasis are not permitted. Ads for other online dating services must adhere to the dating targeting requirements and the name of the product or service must be included in the ad text or image.

D. Drugs and Tobacco

Ads may not promote or facilitate the sale or consumption of illegal or recreational drugs, tobacco products, or drug or tobacco paraphernalia.

E. Gambling and Lotteries

i. Ads that promote or facilitate online gambling, games of skill or lotteries, including online casino, sports books, bingo, or poker, are only allowed in specific countries with prior authorization from Facebook.

ii. Lotteries run by government entities may advertise on Facebook, provided that ads must be targeted in accordance with applicable law in the jurisdiction in which the ads will be served and may only target users in the jurisdiction in which the lottery is available.

iii. Ads that promote offline gambling establishments, such as offline casinos, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, are generally permitted, provided that ads must be appropriately targeted.

iv. Please refer to the Help Center for additional gambling-specific guidance.

F. Pharmaceuticals and Supplements

i. Ads must not promote the sale of prescription pharmaceuticals. Ads for online pharmacies are prohibited except that ads for certified pharmacies may be permitted with prior approval from Facebook.